1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing a call transfer service with a service control point and a service node.
2. Background Information
A call transfer service is a set of call transfer features and functions used by contact center agents to transfer or manipulate a call. The contact center agent initiates transfer requests by entering a pre-defined call transfer code (T-Code). The transfer features available to the contact center agent are based on the transfer features subscribed to by the business customer. Beside the ability to initiate a transfer request, the agent has the ability to initiate a number of function requests. A function request is an action that provides the agent with the ability to manipulate or control interaction with a caller. Call transfer service function requests control actions like, Place Caller On Hold With Silence; Place Caller On Hold With Music; Cancel A Transfer or Function Request. The agent initiates a function request by entering via dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) input a Function Code (F-Code). The F-Codes available to the contact center agent are dependent on the functions requested and subscribed to by the business customer. The call transfer service also supports a feature that allows a caller to initiate a particular transfer request.
One solution for implementing the call transfer service employs mid-call triggers to listen for agents entering attention keys. This solution is complicated. It is also expensive to implement the mid-call triggers on the switch.
Another solution is to route calls to a service node to process the call. However, because the service typically requires menu routing, menus have to be built on the service node, thus complicating provisioning. This solution is expensive from a network perspective and a service node port utilization perspective.
It would be desirable to have a solution that combines the benefits of a service control point (SCP) with the benefits of the service node. It would also be desirable to have a solution that only routes to the service node when the call is ready to be routed to an agent.